Some people lauded the decision as the "most effective way to counter Egypt's gerrymandered electoral system," and that there was a "practical advantage" by gaining seats in parliament.

Some party members, however, said the decision not to boycott was a mistake, while others said it was a "missed opportunity" and reflective of "internal strife [that] indicates the dearth of creative strategic thinkers.

The Egyptian government has long claimed that such powers are used only against suspected terrorists and drug dealers but in fact they have also been used against nonviolent political opponents of the regime.

The General-Secretary of the Policy Committee in the National Democratic Party Gamal Mubarak said: "This issue is governed by the law and the constitution which made it possible for civil society organizations to monitor the elections".

[18] The Secretary of Education in the NDP, Mohamed Kamal, said that the party welcomes the supervision of national organisations, but refuses international monitoring.

Abdel Moneim Sayyid, chairman of Al-Ahram and a member of the Policy Committee of the National Party, said that "the regime will not relinquish its grip on power even if it means holding fraudulent elections.

[22] Over a month before the elections, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said the private media would have to obtain licences from the Ministry of Information and the Supreme Press Council to send out SMS.

[25] Several Muslim Brotherhood members were arrested while putting up posters for a female candidate signalling an "attempt to silence the Islamic group."

[29] Early results from the first stage showed the MB had not made any gains to its one-fifth position, with the ruling NDP consolidating its two-thirds majority in parliament.

[31] Essam Elerian, a MB spokesman, said that though the party "lost seats and a much deserved representation in the parliament...we won people's love and support and a media battle that exposed [irregularities in] the elections.

[34] After its accusations of government fraud and vote buying during Sunday's first round of the parliamentary elections, Egypt's largest opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has decided not to take part in this weekend's runoff poll.

[35] The decision comes one day after the Higher Elections Committee announced the first round's official results in which the Islamist group failed to win a single seat, but still had 27 candidates to compete in the runoff.

Most of the remaining undecided seats will be contested by NDP candidates against each other, guaranteeing President Hosni Mubarak's party an absolute majority.

The amendment of article 76 of the Constitution, which allowed multi-candidate presidential elections, but imposed draconian rules on party nominees, is thought to be in need of alteration to remove the 5% restriction.

[citation needed] In 2011, following sentiment during the 2010–2011 Tunisian uprising, Egyptians also took to the streets to protest similar conditions such as police brutality, the state of emergency laws in place for decades, unemployment, a desire to raise the minimum wage, lack of housing, food inflation, corruption, lack of freedom of speech, and poor living conditions.